Constructing or buying a 300ah Lifepo4 battery, but which configuration and cells are the best?

[Sokrates]

For our sailing vessel we want to replace our AGM batteries with a capacity of total 600AH, with 2 x 300AH Lifepo4 battery packs. However what are the best cells? In communication with (Chinese) sellers there are two configurations offered. One with 8 Eve 160LF (?) cells, 4 series connected with pairs 2 parallel connected and a BMS . Another one with 4 CATL 302AH and a BMS. Looking to reviews, also on this site. I am not sure about the EVE 160LF (not to be found on the EVE Energy website) and of the CATL 302AH. The latter because of some issues with swelling of the cells (found on this website). Another (European) seller offers a configuration with 4 EV LF304 and a BMS, but far more expensive. Asking the Chines seller for a configuration with the EVE 304 cells, they told me that they were sold out. So I have to decide for the reasonable cheap Chinese configurations, but which one? Or the European far more expensive configuration. Or waiting for a new stock of EV 304LF cells. Leaving it then to the Chines seller. Or build it myself with EVE 304 cells bought at the EVE energy website, a (Chinese?) BMS and all the other stuff you need (a found a manual on this website) . What can you advice me ? And what Chinese sellers are trustworthy ?

 

[FilterGuy]

For our sailing vessel we want to replace our AGM batteries with a capacity of total 600AH, with 2 x 300AH Lifepo4 battery packs.

FYI: If the AGM is rated at 600Ah, the usable capacity is closer to 300Ah. 2 300Ah LiFePO4 packs will be about double the usable capacity of the current batteries.

 

[Dzl]

For our sailing vessel we want to replace our AGM batteries with a capacity of total 600AH, with 2 x 300AH Lifepo4 battery packs. However what are the best cells?

One school of thought (from some pretty authoritative sources on LiFePO4 in the marine world) strongly suggest sticking to cells <200AH in a high shock, high vibration marine environment. Not everyone accepts that, and what was true 3-5 years ago, may be different now or in the future, but if you want to be cautious its something to think hard about. You can read more in the Nordkyn Design and Marinehowto links in my signature. If you don't choose to follow this logic, how you secure and compress the cells becomes even more important. Most aluminum cased cells are not nearly as physically robust on their own as the nylon cased cells popular in years past, so how you secure them is probably much more important.

Or the European far more expensive configuration.

Are you located in Europe?

Or build it myself with EVE 304 cells bought at the EVE energy website

And what Chinese sellers are trustworthy ?

This is a decision you will want to make for yourself, informed by the recommendations/reviews of others, but just be aware, the vast majority of people here have between 0 and 2 interactions with sellers, and not a huge depth of knowledge about what they are purchasing, and there are many examples of sellers that people thought were safe bets or came recommended by others turning out to be mixed bags or in a few cases outright frauds and many examples of people repeating things they were told by the manufacturer that are not accurate. Approach with skepticism and caution and do your due diligence if buying discount cells from unofficial resellers.

The least risky choices will usually also usually be more expensive. Buy from the manufacturer directly, or through an official sales channel (with a track record and a reputation and relationship to protect) in your home country or through a vendor you have some experience with. If you do opt for the budget route, a search on this forum will turn up a few of the options that some of our members currently trust (and probably a handful that have fallen out of favor, its a fluid market). Just be aware that the community (including experienced members) do not have a 100% track record when it comes to where we place our trust or our analysis of risk. That said, you can mitigate your risk to a large degree by choosing sellers with longer and mostly positive track records here on the forum that are familiar with the wants/needs of members here, and by doing research before purchasing (and asking questions before you order and paying with a CC or Paypal for buyer protection).

 

[100 Proof]

For our sailing vessel we want to replace our AGM batteries with a capacity of total 600AH, with 2 x 300AH Lifepo4 battery packs. However what are the best cells? In communication with (Chinese) sellers there are two configurations offered. One with 8 Eve 160LF (?) cells, 4 series connected with pairs 2 parallel connected and a BMS . Another one with 4 CATL 302AH and a BMS. Looking to reviews, also on this site. I am not sure about the EVE 160LF (not to be found on the EVE Energy website) and of the CATL 302AH. The latter because of some issues with swelling of the cells (found on this website). Another (European) seller offers a configuration with 4 EV LF304 and a BMS, but far more expensive. Asking the Chines seller for a configuration with the EVE 304 cells, they told me that they were sold out. So I have to decide for the reasonable cheap Chinese configurations, but which one? Or the European far more expensive configuration. Or waiting for a new stock of EV 304LF cells. Leaving it then to the Chines seller. Or build it myself with EVE 304 cells bought at the EVE energy website, a (Chinese?) BMS and all the other stuff you need (a found a manual on this website) . What can you advice me ? And what Chinese sellers are trustworthy ?

I encourage you to keep reading in this forum. You will learn a ton as I have. For your specific case however, I would also suggest you wander over into some marine forums where the same topic is discussed with your specific application. Following is one example.

DIY LiFePO4 Batteries On Boats - Marine How To

DIY LiFePo4 On Boats Last edit;3/26/23:The base of this article was written a number of years ago (2010) but this does not mean the information here is outdated. We have been keeping it updated and have added to it when ever we had the time. This article deals

marinehowto.com

 

[RV10flyer]

I’ve ordered a total of 128 ea, 280 aH cells (107.5 kWh). 64 ea from Amy at Shenzhen Luyuan Technologies and 64 ea from Hayley from Dongguan Lightning. Both on a Alibaba. Both vendors provided perfect, flat aluminum cases with NO bulging. All cells were under 0.22 mohms internal resistance (IR). All cells had 280-285 aH capacity. All received to my door in eastern USA in 8-12 weeks from order date. Both communicated very well and provided test data sheets for cells.

I also bought 16 cells from Sanben and 4 cells from Liitokala on AliExpress. I’ll never buy from or recommend them. All were under capacity and bulged 1/8-1/4”. Both are liars and would not take make it right.

 

[aklb43]